On this day: the wedding of the year

November 18 2000: Michael Douglas marries Catherine Zeta Jones

When Hollywood star Michael Douglas, son of Jewish actor Kirk (whsoe real name is Issur Danielovitch), met the Welsh actress, he told her: “I want to father your children”.

At 25 years her senior, their marriage – his second - surprised many, but they have remained together since and are set to renew their vows to mark their tenth anniversary. The couple have two children and live in New York.

Guest were invited with hologrammed invitations and security was tight. The ceremony, in New York’s now-closed Plaza hotel, was said to have cost £1.5 million. Kirk Douglas attended, along with stars including Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Sharon Stone.

The wedding was not without controversy. Despite signing a £1m exclusive deal with OK! Magazine for the photographs, pictures of the celebrations appeared in Hello.

The couple pursued the matter, suing for £500,000 damages and eventually won a partial victory on confidentiality grounds in a landmark case for privacy law in Britain.

Earlier this year he was diagnosed with advanced stage throat cancer, for which he is now undergoing treatment.

What the JC said about Michael Douglas:Hollywood lacks true royalty and makes do with dynasties instead, notably Fondas, Waynes, Carradines and Barrymores. And then there is the currently highest profile dynasty of them all, the Douglases… Michael, in both appearance and vocally, is obviously his father’s son. His “Wall Street” character, ruthless corporate raider Gordon “Greed is Good” Gecko, pays obvious homage to Kirk’s ruthless Hollywood producer in “The Bad and the Beautiful,” and his best performances contain the same underlying arrogance and inherent dislikeability that marked his father’s finest work.